Doomsday Prophecies

Editor's Note:  This was originally published in 2012.

So I've about had it.  This week, while sifting through the news, I have come across SIX articles, all claiming that we humans are going to single-handedly wipe out life on earth.  Through ocean acidity, climate change, and a host of other "evils," we're the reason Wall-E is going to exist.

Enough, already. 

There are many ways to view theology, but they all boil down to two essential rules of thumb:  there is a Supreme Being, or there isn't. 

Now, if there isn't, then you're pretty much resigned to atheism.  If there is, then there's a whole host of religious options available to you.  Now here's the thing, if you happen to subscribe to a particular religion - and at this point in the conversation, it doesn't matter which one - then the end of the world is spelled out for you.  I'm willing to bet, dollars-to-doughnuts, that your god is scheduled to return to earth.

Let's take Christianity, for example.  In Revelation, John writes: 

I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True.  With justice he judges and wages war.  His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns.  He has a name written on it that no one knows but he himself. . . .

Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to wage war against the rider on the horse and his army.  But the beast was captured and with it the false prophet . . . The two of them were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur. . . .

Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it.  The earth and the heavens fled from his presence, and there was no place for them.  And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened.  Another book was opened, which is the book of life.  The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books.  The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what they had done.  Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire.  The lake of fire is the second death.  Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away . . . He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!"  (Revelation 19:11-12, 19-20; 20:11-15; 21:1,5).   

Scary stuff, some of it.  Notice, though, that the earth isn't destroyed by carbon gasses, nuclear war, or a lack of Twinkies.  In the Christian worldview, Jesus returns and gets rid of evil, permanently.

"But I'm not a Christian!  I'm Hindu!"

No problem.

According to the Kalki Purana, "One of mud will be born" on earth.  He will be the Avatar of Visnu, Kalki.  Coming on a white horse, he will slay Kali, the demon-god who incites evil on earth.  Thus will end the Kali-Yuga, and an age of purity will begin.

"But I'm not a Hindu!  I'm Muslim!"

No problem.

In Surah Al-Furqan, we read, "The Day the Heavens shall be rent asunder with clouds, and angels shall be sent down descending (in ranks) - that day, the dominion as of right and truth, shall be (wholly) for (Allah) Most Merciful:  it will be a day of dire difficulty for the Misbelievers" (24-25, trans. Yusuf-Ali).

The end of the world will be one in which the heavens are torn open and Allah reveals Himself, to the dismay of all non-Muslims.

"But I'm a Latter-Day Saint, not a Muslim!"

No problem.

In Doctrine and Covenants, the LDS church states:  ". . . [Jesus] now reigneth in the heavens and will reign till he descends on the earth . . . which time is nigh at hand . . . but the hour and the day no man knoweth, neither the angels in heaven, nor shall they know until he comes" (49:6-7).

"I'm not a Mormon, but a Buddhist!  What do you have to say about that, jerk?!"

No problem.

In his Sermon of the Seven Suns, the Buddha proclaimed that over the course of several years, seven suns would eventually appear in the sky.  Each sun would bring with it a cataclysmic event, similar to the cataclysms outlined in other faiths.  Eventually, the sheer multitude of suns in the sky will burn up the earth and cause it to explode.

"Excuse me, but I'm an atheist.  I believe in a random process of evolution that has been going on for millions of years.  None of this hocus-pocus religion interests me."

No problem.

Michael Chrichton penned a remarkable dialogue concerning what should be the evolutionists view on mankind and the fate of earth in his novel, Jurassic Park.  While I could certainly sum it up, he does a much better job:

"'Let me tell you about our planet . . . Our planet is four and a half billion years old.  There has been life on this planet for nearly that long,  Three point eight billion years.  The first bacteria.  And, later, the first multicellular animals, then the first complex creatures, in the sea, on the land.  Then the great sweeping ages of animals - the amphibians, the dinosaurs, the mammals, each lasting millions upon millions of years.  Great dynasties of creatures arising, flourishing, dying away.  All this happening against a background of continuous and violent upheaval, mountain ranges thrust up and eroded away, cometary impacts, volcanic eruptions, oceans rising and falling, whole continents moving . . . Endless, constant and violent change . . . Even today, the greatest geographical feature on the planet comes from two great continents colliding, buckling to make the Himalayan mountain range over millions of years.  The planet has survived everything, in its time.  It will certainly survive us.'" 

"Hammond frowned.  'Just because it lasted a long time,' he said, 'doesn't mean it is permanent.  If there was a radiation accident. . . .'

"'Suppose there was,' Malcolm said.  'Let's say we had a bad one, and all the plants and animals died, and the earth was clicking hot for a hundred thousand years.  Life would survive somewhere - under the soil, or perhaps frozen in Arctic ice.  And after all those years, when the planet was no longer inhospitable, life would again spread over the planet.  The evolutionary process would begin again.  It might take a few billion years for life to regain its present variety.  And of course it would be very different from what it is now.  But the earth would survive our folly.  Life would survive our folly.  Only we,' Malcolm said, 'Think it wouldn't.'

"Hammond said, 'Well, if the ozone layer gets thinner -'

"There will be more ultraviolet radiation reaching the surface.  So what?'

"'Well.  It'll cause skin cancer.'

"Malcolm shook his head.  'Ultraviolet radiation is good for life.  It's powerful energy.  It promotes mutation, change.  Many forms of life will thrive with more UV radiation.'

"'And many others will die out,' Hammond said.

"Malcolm sighed.  'You think this is the first time such a thing has happened?  Don't you know about oxygen?'

"'I know it's necessary for life.'

"'It is now,' Malcolm said.  'But oxygen is actually a metabolic poison.  It's a corrosive gas, like flourine, which is used to etch glass.  And when oxygen was first produced as a waste product by certain plant cells - say, around three billion years ago - it created a crisis for all  other life on our planet.  Those plant cells were polluting the environment with a deadly poison.  They were exhaling a lethal gas, and building up its concentration.  A planet like Venus has less than one percent oxygen.  On earth, the concentration of oxygen was going up rapidly - five, ten, eventually twenty-one percent!  Earth had an atmosphere of pure poison!  Incompatible with life!'

"Hammond looked irritated.  'So what is your point?  That modern pollutants will be incorporated, too?'

"'No,' Malcolm said.  'My point is that life on earth can take care of itself.  In the thinking of a human being, a hundred years is a long time.  A hundred years ago, we didn't have cars and airplanes and computers and vaccines. . . . It was a whole different world.  But to the earth, a hundred years is nothing.  A million years is nothing.  This planet lives and breathes on a much vaster scale.  We can't imagine its slow and powerful rhythms, and we haven't got the humility to try.  We have been residents here for the blink of an eye.  If we are gone tomorrow the earth will not miss us.'" 

Now, I'm not advocating evolution, or any other religion, for that matter.  Jesus claimed to be Lord and God, He raised Himself from the dead to prove it, and when He says He's coming again, I believe Him.  But the point, folks, is this:  no matter what you believe, no matter what faith you follow, no matter what god you believe in (or don't believe in), human beings are not going to be responsible for the end of the world.  To assume that we have the power to wipe out all life on earth is simply arrogant.  I am not suggesting we dump oil in our oceans, stop recycling, or waste resources.  What I AM suggesting is that we relax a little bit on all of this nonsense that we're ultimately going to destroy this planet.  No major religion suggests it, and evolution renders our planet hardier than we think.

So why are we so worried?  Oh, and, if you want another bright spot, we can now safely rule out the Mayan predictions.  There you go, one less thing to worry about, right?  :-)    

The Giants of the Coast

Across the sea, they came.  Their boats were light, like canoes, but large, like the Spanish ships.  The men aboard the ships - white men without beards - were so large that an average man only reached their knees.  The wealthy among them dressed in animal skins, while the rest wore nothing at all. 

They were skilled architects and built sturdy, strong houses.  They also dug great wells out of the rock of the land, drawing sweet water from deep underground.  The wells were lined with handmade bricks, so as to last many, many years.  To dig these wells required great strength, and we were much amazed to see it accomplished.

They had no women with them, and in congregating with our own, the women were killed.  For this we were angry, and rose up against them.  They did violence to us men, as well, and though our warriors were valiant, because of their strength and size, we were unable to overcome them.  So they remained for many years, and the two peoples did not get on well.

Because of their inability to take wives from among us, the men practiced detestable acts with each other.  They showed no humility towards us or towards the gods, and they were duly punished for their crimes.  One day, a bright fire came out of the heavens, and the giants were all consumed, their bodies burnt up.  Only a few bones remained, and this we know to be true, because we can see the burnt up bones for ourselves, just as we can see where their houses and wells once stood.

-From an Incan legend, as told to Pedro de Cieza de Leόn

The Yaksha

One day, a brahmin was distraught to find that he could no longer perform tapas, as his tools had become entangled in the horns of a stag.  So he enlisted the help of the warriors of the Pandava clan to pursue the animal and retrieve the churning stick.  The warriors - who were all brothers - chased the stag through the forest, but to no avail; it was too quick for even them.

They sat beneath a tree to rest, ashamed and confused as to why they were unable to capture the animal.  For surely their experience in battle had proven their might and worth tenfold?  Yet they were unable to defeat a common beast.  One of the brothers, whose name was Yudhishthira, instructed another brother to climb a tree and see if any water could be found.  The brother, who was named Nakula, spotted a grove of trees nearby, around which were many water cranes.  So he set off to fetch the water.

Nakula came to a beautiful lake, clear as glass, and surrounded by flowering trees, spreading vines, and birds of lovely colors.  Overjoyed, he descended to the water and began to draw it out of the lake in a vessel.  Before he could finish, however, a voice spoke to him.

"My son, do not draw the water until you have answered my questions."

Nakula, who feared his mind was stretched to the limit with exhaustion, ignored the voice.  He drank the water, and immediately died.

Meanwhile, the others noted that he had not returned.  So Yudhishthira sent Sahadeva to see what was the matter.  He arrived at the lake and saw Nakula dead, and would have done something about it had the lake not looked so inviting.  So he went to the edge and drew some water, so as to refresh himself, when the same voice spoke up.  He too ignored it, drank, and died.

Mighty Arjuna went, armed with his bow, Gandiva, and was dismayed to see both of his brothers dead.  He also noted how inviting the water was, and so went to drink, when the same warning echoed around him.  He did not ignore it, but instead challenged the speaker to reveal himself, and so take part in a battle.  When the voice did not answer, Arjuna fired an arrow into the surrounding woods.  The voice issued a second warning.  Arjuna declared that nothing could stop him, and so drew water, drank, and died.  Some time later, the brothers sent Bhima to see what had happened, and he, too, drank and died.

Yudhishthira himself came this time, and was horrified to see four of his brothers dead.  He sat beside them and mourned, for he had no one to help him in his fight to win back his kingdom.  He noted that there were no footprints, nor any sign of a struggle.  He concluded that the being that killed his brothers must be supernatural, and so descended to the lake so as to draw water for the last rites due his brothers.  The voice spoke loudly to him, and said, "It is I who killed your brothers."

Yudhishthira looked around, but so no one.  The voice continued:  "I will kill you unless you answer my questions."

Yudhishthira asked, "What are you?  You must be a mighty being to slay men whom neither the gods nor demons can slay.  So I ask again:  what are you?"

"I am a Yaksha, mighty Yudhishthira.  May you have prosperous fortune."

As Yudhishthira watched, a massive figure began to form.  Its eyes burned like the sun, and its voice was the thunder in the heavens.  It said, "I warned your brothers, but they heeded me not.  This water is my water, and those who touch without my consent must die, as your brothers did."

The warrior replied, "I will answer your questions as I am able, for I have no desire to take that which does not belong to me."

So began the questions, and Yudhishthira answered them.  In so doing, he led himself from darkness into light, and became full of wisdom. 

What is heavier than the earth?
            Mother
What is taller than the sky?
            Father
What is more swift than the wind?
           The mind
What is more plentiful than the grass?
           Thoughts

Who is the traveller's friend?
           A companion
Who is the householder's friend?
           A spouse
Who is the invalid's friend?
           A doctor
Who is the dying man's friend?
           His charity

What must we renounce to become loved?
           Our pride
What must we renounce to become free of misery?
           Our anger
What must we renounce to become wealthy?
           Our desire
What must we renounce to become happy?
           Our greed

What is our greatest treasure?
           Skill
What is our greatest wealth?
           Education
What is our greatest gain?
           Health
What is our greatest happiness?
           Contentment

What defines a man?
           His offspring
Who is a man's God-given friend?
           His wife
What is his life's support?
           Rain
What is his purpose?
           Charity

What causes the sun to rise?
           Brahma
Who moves around Brahma?
           The gods
What causes the sun to set?
           Dharma
What holds him firm?
           The truth



The tendency here would be to offer commentary on every question.  Rather than do that, however, I want us to explore the fundamental philosophies behind the myth as a whole, because these philosophies form the very basis of Hindu thought.  Therefore, if we can demonstrate accuracy (or fallacy) in the very basic heart of these philosophies, we can move in a direction of believing (or disbelieving). 

The general thrust of Hinduism is the belief that we must restore our relationship to God, who is kept at a distance from us by our own greed, pride, anger, desire, and so on.  How do we accomplish this?  The third question addresses that:  we must keep our minds under control. 

Now, it should only take us a moment to realize that this is nearly impossible, for even the second question notes that our minds can travel to a thousand different places in a mere instant.  Benjamin Franklin, in his autobiography, made a list of virtues that he tried to practice each and every day until, after thirteen weeks' time, he would have attained perfection.  In his own words:  "I fell far short of it."  Our minds can only, with great effort, be partially controlled, our desires only partially squelched.

Ever had a tune stuck in your head that you couldn't get out?  Ever had a craving for a type of food thay wouldn't go away until you had that particular food?  Ever been in a bad mood you just couldn't shake?

So here's the deal:  the basis of Hindu thought is founded on an impossibility.  Now - and please listen carefully - this is not an anti-Hindu rant.  This is not a call to gather up your torches and pitchforks and storm the homes of your Hindu neighbors.  I am not advocating a trade embargo on India.  Please don't vandalize local Hindu temples. 

My point is that this myth sets forth a mode of thinking that is impossible to fulfill, without any guidance  as to how to accomplish these goals.  What does that mean for the accuracy of the myth? 

It gives it credibility.

Assuming that Yudhishthira existed (and there's no reason to assume he's fictional - that is, there's no scroll somewhere with author's notes charting out the character development), in order to take a difficult (impossible) philosophy as truth, something must convince you that this thing has authority.  Dead brothers, unharmed by any weapon, would do it.  A being that can turn itself invisible would do it.  A being whose eyes blazed like the sun and who, when compared to a large warrior, was considered massive would do it. 

Yudhishthira saw this being and believed what it said, in spite of its impossible assertions.  The Yaksha, in other words, persuaded a trained warrior to listen to him.  Not too many men in that day would be able to do that.

So what is the Yaksha?  Clearly, he is supernatural.  He's also, clearly, lying.  Most cultures believe in evil spirits, even our modern-day science-oriented culture.  We are largely a materialistic society who has pushed God to the fringes, and yet our bookstores have shelves devoted to "true" tales of ghostly horrors. 

Because it remains a universal myth, then, and because this particular myth seems to point us in the same direction, we can suspect that the Yaksha story recounts a collaboration between a warrior and an evil spirit.  The Bible calls Satan "The Father of Lies," but his deceptions are rarely outright lies, but are rather lies mixed with a bit of truth (c.f. Genesis 1-3).

The Yaksha states that the mind is powerful; this is true.  With it, we invent and create, we make decisions that impact our lives and the lives of people around us, and we delve into our own deepest thoughts and emotions.

The Yaksha states that the mind needs to be controlled and tamed; this is true.  If left unchecked, those decisions, thoughts, and emotions of which we are capable can descend into some very, very dark places.  If left unchecked, our darkest thoughts turn into darker realities.  Wars and crime are proof of that. 

The Yaksha states that we are capable of controlling our own minds; this is the lie that has been artfully mixed in with truth.  As we have established, our minds are - on the best of days, with the sun out of our eyes and the wind in our favor - barely under our control.  As we also established, only a few moments of thought would reveal that to us.  What control we can accomplish, is rarely maintained, and control in one area always - this is what Franklin discovered - leaves a vacuum and a failure in another.

Why, then, would this stalwart warrior believe in what he learned that day?  Because the Yaksha was a real entity, and because what it conveyed was a classic example of an old theme:  lies become more believable when mixed with truth. 

The Giant Kangaroos

**NOTE:  ORIGINALLY POSTED 3/26/12**


Once, there were two brothers of the family name Byama. After a wicked man named Thoorkook killed their sons, the brothers decided to take revenge. So they changed themselves into giant kangaroos, and hopped about near Thoorkook's dwelling place. Thoorkook's dogs scented them, and gave chase. The brothers, disguised as the kangaroos, hopped faster and faster, leaving the dogs behind. But one of the dogs ran ahead of the pack, and just as he was about to catch them, they turned and rent him in two with their giant paws. They threw the body into a nearby watering hole.

They continued to hop, and the dogs continued to give a frenzied chase. The dogs lagged further behind, save one, who ran ahead of the pack. Just at the last moment, the giant kangaroos rent him in two with their giant paws. One by one, over many days, the chase continued in such a manner until all of the dogs were gone.

The brothers changed themselves back into men, and entered Thoorkook's camp. When he saw them, he grabbed his weapons, but the brothers made a show of peace by laying their weapons aside. The elder brother said, "While we were away hunting, you came with your dogs and killed our children. Now we have killed your dogs - even as we speak their bodies are being picked clean by the buzzards. You, however, we will not kill with deception, but as men who fight other men." Having said this, the brothers picked up their weapons and advanced. Thoorkook also picked up his weapon, and prepared to fight.

The fight waged on for many hours, as the men were all skilled at battle. Each time Thoorkook hurled his spear, the brothers protected themselves with shields. Each time the brothers hurled their spears, Thoorkook did likewise. At long last, the elder brother threw his spear with such force that it pierced Thoorkook's shield, entered into his throat, and came out the other side.

Not wishing their enemy to remain dead, they turned him into the Mopoke bird, who only lives at night and has a wretched cry. Thus is he punished forever.

When the brothers returned home, they discovered that their wives were still mourning the loss of their children. So they turned their wives into Curlews, whose mournful cries echo out from the bushes day and night.

-From Australia

Izanagi and Izanami

Izanagi and Izanami came to earth over the Rainbow Bridge, and Izanagi brought his jeweled spear with him.  The earth was not as we know it now, however, but was a deep, oily ocean.  Izanagi plunged his spear into the chaos, and stirred it.  When it stirred around and around, he drew out the spear and let a single drop of water fall from the tip.  The water turned into an island.

They stepped off of the bridge and onto the island.  On this island, they created a tall stone column.  The column was sacred, and contained the sacred stories of the ancients.  Izanagi walked around the column in one direction, and Izanami walked around the column in the opposite direction.  They met, and the two were married, and they consummated that marriage.  From this coupling, Izanami gave birth to everything in the world:  the eight islands of The Empire, the gods and goddesses of water and nature, the mountains, streams, plants, animals, and even the mountains.  At long last, Izanami gave birth to fire, but the fire consumed her as a fever, and she died, descending into the Underworld.

Izanagi was grief-stricken and chased after her.  It was dark, and he was unable to see, so he pulled a comb from his hair.  The comb was wooden, and very ornate, but he did not care.  He lit it on fire, hoping to see his bride.  What he saw was terrifying, and he recoiled.

She was a rotting corpse, her flesh hanging off of her bones, her mouth agape.  Issuing from that dreadful mouth was a scream vile enough to cause Izanagi to turn and flee.  She flew after him, shrieking all the while, her demons and minions joining in the chase.

Izanagi made it to the entrance of the Underworld, and rolled a stone over the opening, trapping his corpse-bride and her demons inside.  She vowed that, as an act of revenge, she would steal 1,000 people a day in death.  Izanagi replied that he would cause 1,500 people to be born each day.  And so it was that, just as the two were married at a stone column, so did that marriage end at a stone, and thus are the living and dead forever separate.

-Japanese Folklore

So many parallels here, it's odd, to say the least.  There's a Rainbow Bridge (Norse), a deep, chaotic Ocean (Hebrew, Sumerian, Greek) the birth of gods and goddesses (Greece, Sumerian, Norse, etc.), Death and Pursuit to the Underworld (Greece), demons (most ancient religions everywhere).  It's almost as if the world's cultures were derived from, and spread from, a single origin.  It's almost as if one culture divided into several, and each of those divided into several more, and each of those divided, and so on, carrying parts of their ancient stories with them.  Just file that away under things that make you go "hmmmmm."

Happy Thanksgiving!

I just wanted to send you all a quick note, telling you that I hoped you had a fantastic Thanksgiving!  More importantly, even if you didn't, I pray that you remember the biggest reason any of us could ever be thankful:  Jesus.  Happy Thanksgiving!

The Halting of the Sun

Now Adoni-Zedek king of Jerusalem heard that Joshua had taken Ai and totally destroyed it, doing to Ai and its king as he had done to Jericho and its king, and that the people of Gibeon had made a treaty of peace with Israel and had become their allies.  He and his people were very much alarmed at this, because Gibeon was an important city, like one of the royal cities; it was larger than Ai, and all its men were good fighters.  So Adoni-Zedek king of Jerusalem appealed to Hoham king of Hebron, Piram king of Jarmuth, Japhia king of Lachish and Debir king of Eglon.  “Come up and help me attack Gibeon,” he said, “because it has made peace with Joshua and the Israelites.”

Then the five kings of the Amorites—the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish and Eglon—joined forces. They moved up with all their troops and took up positions against Gibeon and attacked it.

The Gibeonites then sent word to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal: “Do not abandon your servants. Come up to us quickly and save us! Help us, because all the Amorite kings from the hill country have joined forces against us.”

So Joshua marched up from Gilgal with his entire army, including all the best fighting men.  The Lord said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid of them; I have given them into your hand. Not one of them will be able to withstand you.”

After an all-night march from Gilgal, Joshua took them by surprise.  The Lord threw them into confusion before Israel, so Joshua and the Israelites defeated them completely at Gibeon. Israel pursued them along the road going up to Beth Horon and cut them down all the way to Azekah and Makkedah.  As they fled before Israel on the road down from Beth Horon to Azekah, the Lord hurled large hailstones down on them, and more of them died from the hail than were killed by the swords of the Israelites.

On the day the Lord gave the Amorites over to Israel, Joshua said to the Lord in the presence of Israel:

“Sun, stand still over Gibeon,
and you, moon, over the Valley of Aijalon.”
So the sun stood still,
and the moon stopped,
till the nation avenged itself on its enemies,

as it is written in the Book of Jashar.

The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day.  There has never been a day like it before or since, a day when the Lord listened to a human being. Surely the Lord was fighting for Israel!

Then Joshua returned with all Israel to the camp at Gilgal.

-The Book of Joshua, Chapter X: 1-15

This myth has, perhaps, been once of the most dishonestly upheld myths in the world.  I don't believe it's been treated this way on purpose, mind you, but well-meaning people often don't think things through.

The rumor has been circulating for over nearly a century that NASA has found the "missing day" of Joshua 10.  Unlike the Admonition of Ipuwer, which suggests an event similar to, if not actually, the Exodus, there is no such proof that earth is missing a day. 

There can't be proof.

Let's think about this for a moment from a different angle.  Say you went to the grocer and purchased ten apples.  By the time you arrived home, there were only nine.  The first question you ask yourself? 

"Where's the missing apple?"

How do you know there's an apple missing?  Because you know you should have ten, but you actually have nine.  You need two pieces of information to know if something is missing:  what you should have, and what you actually have.  These are required pieces of information.  Without either, you can't find out if something is missing.

The same rules apply for the Missing Day.  We need to know:

1) How many days there should be

2) How many days there have actually been

We know neither of these.  NASA has not been able to determine how many days there have been in the existence of the earth.  The Bible doesn't even tell us how many days there should have been by this point.  Nor do we know how many there have actually been by this point.  So out of the two pieces of information required to discover that a day is missing, we have neither.

Now, there are possible references to an event similar to this in other literature, which indicates an actual occurrence.  For example, in Book II of the Iliad, Agamemnon prays that Zeus may keep the sun from setting.  If the Greeks observed a day in which the sun stood still, then it is possible that they worked it into their mythology.  Other cultures reference times of great power in which the moon stood still for longer than usual, which also supports the story of Joshua.  I would argue they add extremely compelling evidence, in fact, but none of these prove the event occurred.

So we must always, at all times, use our critical thinking to determine the validity of any story.  While I firmly believe in the event described in Joshua 10, it is because so much of the Bible has already been demonstrated to be true, at the very least plausible, and the God revealed in the Bible has demonstrated Himself to be both present and trustworthy in my own life.  My faith in the accuracy of Joshua 10 does not come from any "proof" attested to by well-meaning but misinformed Christians, however.  Rather than blindly take a claim as fact, just a few moments of thought will tell us that such a claim is simply false.  This is not to say our faith is without evidence, of course, but we all need to be careful about undoing compelling evidence by upholding false truth.

The Cattle of Geryon

Heracles, having completed nine labors, was then sent to Erytheia.  He was tasked with the theft of Geryon's Cattle.  So the demigod traveled across the desert of Libya, where, exhausted by the heat, he fired upon the sun in an attempt to make him hide.  Helios offered Heracles whatever he wanted, so long as he ceased firing upon him.  Heracles demanded the golden cup in which he sailed each night, and Heracles used it to sail to Erytheia.

Upon landing on shore, Heracles was accosted by Orthrus, who gnashed and snarled at him with both of his fierce heads.  Heracles, bearing his olve-wood club, smote the dog upon the head, crushing its skull.  Eurythion, the cattle-herder, who was following Orthrus, saw the deed and rushed upon Heracles.  But Heracles wielded his mighty club and struck Eurythion dead.

Hearing the commontion, Geryon emerged from his home.  Geryon was a giant, fierce in battle, and it was his brother, Eurythion, who had been killed.  Geryon had thus armed himself with three spears, and carried three shields upon his arms.  His three helmets protected his three heads, and he rushed upon Heracles full-force.  Heracles fled, dismayed at the sight of such a fierce monster, but upon reaching the River Anthemus, Heracles turned and fired a poisoned arrow at the giant.  It pierced all three of Geryon's bodies, and the monster cried out in terror and pain before collapsing dead.

Heracles returned home with the cattle, but on the way Hera, who was envious of Heracles, sent a gadfly to bite the cattle, scattering them in many directions.  Though it took Heracles a year, however, he was able to find each of them and bring them back together.  So she caused a flood to raise a river in his path, making it impassable, but he piled stone upon stone into the river until he was able to cross safely with the cattle.  Hera then raised up a monster who was half-serpent and half-woman, but Heracles fought and destroyed her.

At last, Hera relented, and Heracles reached Eurystheus.  There, he sacrificed the cattle to Hera, whose anger was then appeased.

-From Greek Legend


The Celts told a story in which the early inhabitants of the British Isles were ruled by a giant named Albion (incidentally, the earliest recorded name of modern-day Britain is “Albion”).  Albion was son of the Celtic sea-god, and, along with his brothers, went south to France to fight against a strong hero in a clash involving cattle.  This great battle between the giants and this hero resulted, tragically, in the giant’s death.

What is remarkable to me is the fact that two cultures separated by more than 1,400 miles (that's more than 2,300 kilmoeters for our friends outside of the US) can tell the exact same story.  It is not difficult to see the parallels between the Celtic story and this week's story of Hercules, but just in case you missed it, I'll lay it out for you:

1) Both stories involve a strong man.
2) In the Greek story, the strong man crosses the African desert, and then crosses a large body of water in some form of vessel; this would put him in Western Europe.  In the Celtic version, the story takes place in France.
3) Both stories involve a clash over cattle.
4) In both stories, the giants are brothers.
5) In both stories, the giants die.

The only difference (other than the cultural name differences, of course) is that the Greek version mentions a dog, a detail that could simply have been left out in the Celtic version.  Of course, if the story actually happened, then the lineage of the giants in the Hercules myth involves a migration into other parts of Europe, something also claimed by the Greeks to have happened.  In fact, most cultures have a form of migratory myth by which all the cultures of the world developed. 

Does this prove that the story happened?  No, but it strains the imaginative mind to come up with a different scenario that explains such a parallel.  So what do you think?  What does the existence of two very similar versions of the same story say to you?

The Mayan Creation of the Earth

This tells of how calm, silence, and suspension held all.  The expanse of the sky was empty, and all was motionless.

This is the first story, when neither man nor beast, neither birds nor fish, and no crabs, trees, caves, rocks, valleys or mountains existed.  There was only the sky.

The ground had not yet appeared; only the sky and sea were there.

Things which were made, things which may move, tremble, or shake the sky did not yet exist.  There was no noise.

Nothing stood.  Only the tranquil ocean existed.

There was only silence, darkness, and immobility in the night.  The creator, Tepeu, and the Forefathers, resided in the water.  They were sages, wise, and thinkers, clever, and they surrounded themselves with light; they concealed themselves under feathers of blue and green, and this is why they are called Gucumatz.  Thus the sky, which is called the Heart of Heaven, existed, and it was the name of God.

Next came the spoken word.  Tepeu and Gucumatz spoke together in the darkness.  Their words were in agreement, and they united them together into a thought, and that thought was Man.  Their next thought was of life and plants, and the Heart of Heaven, which is called Huracán, became three.  The first part is called

Caculhá Huracán, the second part is called Chipi-Caculhá, and the third part is called Raxa-Caculhá.

These three are the Heart of Heaven.

Tepeu and Gucamatz determined to fill the earth, and so it was.  The water receded and the earth appeared.  Light filled the sky, and there was dawn.  They spoke, and the mountains came from the waters.  They spoke, and the Earth was made. 

Through the magic of their word the trees and groves came forth, and they praised Huracán.  "How marvelous is your coming, Heart of Heaven!"

The Heart of Heaven spoke:  "It is done, and the creation has been finished."

So, now, the earth was formed, and then the mountains and valleys.  The rivers were divided, and ran through the hills.  The oceans were divided one from the other.  So the Heart of Heaven made the earth fruitful, and the sky expanded above it.  The work that they did was perfect, and it came about by their thoughts. 

-Taken from the Popul Vuh

Book Awards and the Gospel

Hey, everyone!  In case you missed it, Giants: Legends and Lore of Goliaths, is the recipient of a Gold Medal in the 2016 Moonbeam Awards!  Since I wasn't aware that it was even being submitted for consideration, this is a pretty amazing thing, and caught me completely off-guard.  But I sort of feel the need to say something about it, lest I get distracted by what matters.

First, I didn't win the award, the book did, and the book was most definitely a collaborative effort.  Bill Looney did the absolutely fantastic illustrations, which - in my opinion - make the book.  But the editors over at Masterbooks also had to take my text, take Bill's illustrations, and work them into a coherent, visually-stunning, and interactive work of art.  I only wrote the text, and, truthfully, an illustrated pop-up book without illustrations or pop-up elements is . . . boring.  Really, really boring.  So the book won, and it only did so because of the work of several other individuals.  I've received lots of congratulations so far - and thank you for those - but please stop, as my part was very, very small.

Secondly, the whole point of writing the book was not to win an award, but to introduce people to the mind-blowing concept that the Bible is not simply a book of fairy tales that has no historical significance.  Like Flood Legends before it, Giants is my way of pointing people to the Bible and reminding them that faith - true, Biblical faith - is never blind.  We have a mighty God, an incredible God, a loving, beautiful, awesome God Who has revealed Himself throughout history as recorded in the pages of the Bible.  So when I say the Bible can be trusted, what I'm really saying is that the God of the Bible can be trusted, and, indeed, demands our trust.  He wants us to know Him on a deeply intimate level, and trusting Him is the only way to begin doing that.  Now, this award will, hopefully, make the book more available to people who would not normally come across this sort of thing.  That's my prayer, but the motivation remains the same:  an avenue for sharing the Gospel.

I'm humbled and proud that Giants actually won an award and for the part I played in it, I'm excited to see what that does for the distribution of it, but at the end of the day, it's ultimately up to you, the readers, to make this thing work.  You need to pass out the copies you own, you need to discuss these ideas with your friends and families, you need to open your Bibles with them, and you need to do what each and every believer is called to do:  go into all the world and preach the Gospel.  Besides, how cool is the topic of giants, anyway?  It's a good door to go through, so let's go through it together.        

Angkor Wat and the Khmer of Cambodia

Once there was an Indian prince who loved to walk through the countryside outside of the palace.  One day, he met a beautiful princess.  He became so enamored with her, that he married her.

On their wedding night, the princess said to the prince, "I am not of your race.  I am a Naga spirit."  Now the Naga spirits are serpent spirits who dwell in the water.  They often take the form of humans, however, in order to interact with us.  The prince, upon learning that his new bride was a Naga spirit, was not upset, because her human form was so beautiful.

Soon, he had even more reason to rejoice.  The princess' father was so happy about the union that he created a new land for the two of them to rule.  So the prince and princess became the first King and Queen of the Khmer people.

-From Cambodia 



In the heart of Cambodia rises the imposing architectural marvel known as Angkor Wat.  Its massive blocks - some of which weigh in at 3,300 pounds - have been the source of one of the great historical mysteries:  how did such an ancient people move and manipulate more than 5 million of these blocks onto the site?  Japanese archaeologist Estup Uchida, with the aid of satellite technology, believes he has discovered the secret. 

He and his team believe that the ancient Khmer used a series of hundreds of man-made canals to ship the blocks over a distance of 22 miles.  The previous theory had the Khmer shipping the blocks via river over a distance of 54 miles.  By cutting the distance in half, Uchida now believes the temple's construction period - a time frame of approximately thirty years - is far more feasible. 

You can read about the project in more detail at the Cambodian Information Center website, but, in the meantime, there is another component to this story that I want to look at, and that involves the Naga spirits.  This is one of the most startling pieces of information, but it only emerges as important when we consider it in light of the other mythology: 

1) That the Khmer peoples appear to have been experts at engineering and handling waterways, and

2) The Khmer people believed themselves to have been descended from the Naga, ancient Hindu water/serpent spirits.

Naga (or, more correctly, Naaga) spirits and the worship of them date back centuries, and seem to have been an integral and fundamental part of the formation of Hinduism (though, of course, Hinduism has so many forms and integrates so many other faiths that it is difficult to claim this with any certainty).  What is interesting about the Cambodian version of the Naga, however, is that the Khmer who built Angkor Wat believed in seven different types - or "races" - of Nagas.  Even today, if you were to visit Angkor Wat, you would see several statues of seven-headed cobras, each one meant to represent the Naga people who helped found that society.

Here's where things get interesting.  Ancient Sumerian literature tells of a group of seven water spirits who came to shore and brought with them architecture, literature, engineering - civilization, in short.  These "spirits" dressed in the garb of fish, complete with scales, a head and a tail.  It is clear from the literature that they were not traditional mermen, but people dressed in costumes.  It is interesting to note that seven water spirits, complete with scales, brought civilization to Sumeria.

Oh, but there's more.  A Bolivian legend has it that the temple complex of Kalasasaya was built with the aid of a "fish man."  Local statues at the temple portray him as a man with fish scales running down his body, and a belt decorated with several large crustaceans.  In other words, he was an architect and engineer who dressed like a water creature. 

And all of this parallels an ancient Indian (sub-continental India, not Native American) belief that civilization is restored after every calamity by a semi-divine group of beings known as the Seven Risis.

Interesting. . . .

So let's put this all together.  In India, we have a belief that a group of seven learned men skilled in the arts of literature, math, and agriculture help rebuild civilization.  In Cambodia, we have the belief that their kingdom was built by the Naga peoples, water spirits who excelled in engineering, the crowning achievement of that kingdom being a massive temple complex built with the aid of hundreds of canals.  In Sumeria, we have the belief that seven fish-people, led by Oannes, brought civilzation to the ancient Sumerian kingdom.  And in South America, the ancient kingdoms were built with the aid of fish-people.

Where does this leave us?  I haven't the foggiest idea.  It appears to leave us with the bizarre notion that there was an ancient race of engineers who dressed as aquatic beings and helped out mankind at its most dire hour. 

Even I realize how ridiculous that sounds.

And yet the parallels - many of them found on the opposite side of the world from others - indicate something must be going on here.  Add to these stories the fantastic tales of mermaids and mermen found almost all over the world, and I begin to suspect two possibilities.  Let's start with the unlikely one.

The first, that mermaids and mermen actually exist.  Despite what many people may argue on conspiracy theory websites, this does not appear to be the case, for several reasons.  There has not been, to my knowledge, any credible physical evidence.  Many fraudulent bodies, many cases of mistaken identity, but no actual remains.  Secondly, biology prevents fish and people from producing offspring.  It is genetically impossible for a human and a fish (or water snake) to produce offspring.  While the universality of the "merpeople" myth does make one wonder, it shouldn't make us wonder for long:  mermaids and mermen do not exist.

Which leaves us with my theory.  What if they were an ancient culture, advanced in many ways?  I'm not talking about aliens or some kind of mystic, Atlantis-like demigods, but a culture who, like the Egyptians, understood agriculture, language, and engineering.  And what if this culture were a maritime culture, its people becoming experts in sailing, swimming, and fishing.  They became so much so, in fact, that the ocean and its components became a matter of worship for them.  And what if that worship developed so much that they began wearing, as means of worship, clothing and accessories that reflected their admiration for the sea?

We do this even today, putting on clothing depicting movie stars and singers.  We buy magazines that give us intimate details of a movie star's life.  Is it strange to think this could be a new phenomenon?  Only, rather than worship Michael Jackson, they worshiped the ocean.  Rather than put up Justin Bieber posters, they put on fish scales.  After all, in both the Sumerian and Bolivian cultures, these are clearly people who dressed as water creatures. 

Could they have gone out in groups of seven, exploring the oceans?  Could they, in their explorations, have found less-developed cultures and, as a means of gesture and goodwill, assisted those cultures with their own knowledge?  Think of it as benevolent imperialism.  Rather than conquer the "lesser" people, they helped these people develop.  

Maybe the Nagas weren't spirits, but people.  Maybe they are the reason we have ancient civilizations.  Maybe, rather than dismiss mermaid tales, we should be investigating them in light of these other legends.  Maybe we should take the Cambodians seriously when they say that they are descended from the Naga, not because they owe their technology to spirit-snakes, but because they owe their civilization to a group of engineers who worshiped the ocean.

Indra and Vrtra

I will declare the mighty deeds of Indra, his foremost of accomplishments, he who is the Thunder-wielder.  He slaughtered the dragon, then let loose the waters, carving and cleaving the pathways of the mountain torrents.  The dragon who lay on the mountain - it was he whom Indra killed.  Tvastr fashioned a bolt of thunder for Indra, and Indra did slay the dragon.  As the many cattle low with a deep thunder, so did the waters of the rivers sound as they flowed to the ocean.  With his deadly thunderbolt, Indra slew the mighty dragon Vrtra, and broke him into pieces.  The waters of the torrents flowed over his body, and the pieces of his body tumbled in the rivers.  Vrtra in his greatness did encompass the mountain, holding back the rivers, and these rivers did now flow over the mighty Vrtra.  Tumbling in the rivers did Vrtra's body ever reach the ocean, O Indra who released the Seven Rivers. 

Indra, you slew the great serpent who obstructed the rivers, and with their rushing, the rivers carved passages in the face of the land; the desert lands were flooded, and the mountains settled into their beds as men who settle to their suppers.  Heaven and Earth trembled, all that moved and was immobile trembled, and Ahi - the serpent who was Vrtra - was torn into pieces by your thunderbolt.   You are Indra, the great Dragon Slayer.

-From the Rig Veda 

It's the End of the World As We Know It: The Rapture, Part 2

In the last post, we discussed the idea that we can know, based on several Biblical signs, when the Rapture is approaching.  Mind you, we cannot predict the date - not from here, at least - but I believe we can be reasonably assured that it isn't likely to happen today, because, as the Scriptures state, we will not be "caught up" and "gathered" until "the Man of Lawlessness . . . sets himself up as god," and, after that, there is a "last trumpet."  Since the Beast has not been revealed, and there hasn't been a First Trumpet, we can reasonably assume that the Rapture is not at any moment.  This goes against popular belief, but popular belief appears to be . . . wrong.

I stated earlier that I believe the Seventh Trumpet of Revelation may immediately follow the Rapture.  After reading the Scriptures for quite some time on this, I believe this is the best and most Scriptural argument.  Now, to be clear, the passage in Revelation that talks about the final Trumpet does not say this, and there are detractors who argue against this view.  However, the main point I want to get to is that if we take the passages we looked at in the last post and read Revelation 10 and 11 in light of those, this seems like a reasonable assessment.  So let's get to it.

When we last saw the Trumpets, the Sixth Trumpet had been sounded and a 200,000,000-spirit army had been unleashed on the world (Revelation 9:13-19).  People are killed (9:15), people refuse to repent (19:20-21), but believers are spared (see 9:4).  One thing we must keep in mind, however, is that this Trumpet was only the second of three woes.  That means that the last Trumpet is called, specifically, a "woe."  Remember that as we look at the last Trumpet in a few moments.

So the Sixth Trumpet has sounded, things have gotten really scary on earth for non-believers, then John sees something in Heaven (and on earth) that sort of breaks up the Trumpets:

Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven.  He was robed in a cloud, with a rainbow above his head; his face was like the sun, and his legs were like fiery pillars.  He was holding a little scroll, which lay open in his hand.  He planted his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land, and he gave a loud shout like the roar of a lion.  When he shouted, the voices of the seven thunders spoke.  And when the seven thunders spoke, I was about to write; but I heard a voice from heaven say, "Seal up what the seven thunders have said and do not write it down."


Then the angel I had seen standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven.  And he swore by Him who lives for ever and ever, Who created the heavens and all that is in them, the earth and all that is in it, and the sea and all that is in it, and said,  "There will be no more delay!  But in the days when the seventh angel is about to sound his trumpet, the mystery of God will be accomplished, just as He announced to His servants the prophets."

Then the voice that I had heard from heaven spoke to me once more:  "Go, take the scroll that lies open in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land."

So I went to the angel and asked him to give me the little scroll.  He said to me, "Take it and eat it.  It will turn your stomach sour, but in your mouth it will be as sweet as honey."  I took the little scroll from the angel's hand and ate it.  It tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it, my stomach turned sour.  Then I was told, "You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, languages and kings."

What on earth is going on here?  John eats a scroll, he's told not to write some things down, thunder is speaking, and an angel with legs like pillars of fire is straddling the earth and sea.  This is pretty strange, but I want us to notice that we're seeing a vitally important announcement here, and that is that "in the days when the seventh angel is about to sound his trumpet, the mystery of God will be accomplished, just as He announced to His servants the prophets."  Keep that in mind as we continue through Revelation.

I was given a reed like a measuring rod and was told, "Go and measure the temple of God and the altar, and count the worshipers there.  But exclude the outer court; do not measure it, because it has been given to the Gentiles.  They will trample on the holy city for 42 months.  And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth."  These are the two olive trees and the two lamp stands that stand before the Lord of the earth.  If anyone tries to harm them, fire comes from their mouths and devours their enemies.  This is how anyone who wants to harm them must die. . . .

Now when they have finished their testimony, the Beast that comes up from the Abyss will attack them, and overpower and kill them.  Their bodies will lie in the street of the great city, which is figuratively called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified.  For three and a half days men from every people, tribe, language and nation will gaze on their bodies and refuse them burial.The inhabitants of the earth will gloat over them and will celebrate by sending each other gifts, because these two prophets had tormented those who live on the earth.

But after the three and a half days a breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and terror struck those who saw them.  Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, "Come up here."  And they went up to heaven in a cloud, while their enemies looked on (11:1-5; 7-12).

We've previously looked at this passage, but now I want to put it in context of the rest of Revelation.  John has heard the sixth and penultimate Trumpet, which brought about a large angelic/(possibly demonic) army.  Then we see an interlude in which the Third Temple, part of which is "given to the Gentiles," is operational.  In front of this temple, the Two Witnesses prophesy for 3 1/2 years, are murdered by The Beast, and then are resurrected.  Here's where it gets interesting:

At that very hour there was a severe earthquake and a tenth of the city collapsed.  Seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the survivors were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven.

The second woe has passed; the third woe is coming soon.

The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said:

"The kingdom of the world has 
     become the kingdom of our 
     Lord and of His Christ,
and He will reign for ever and 
     ever." 

And the twenty-four elders, who were seated on their thrones before God, fell on their faces and worshiped God, saying:

"We give thanks to You, Lord God
       Almighty,
   the One Who is and Who was,
because You have taken Your great
       power
   and have begun to reign. . ." (Revelation 11:13-17).

So what do we see?  The Witnesses (possibly the Jewish and Gentile Church) are executed, resurrect, and are raptured according to a loud command from heaven (11:12).  There is a great earthquake in the city of Jerusalem, and only after this is the Second Woe finished.  After that declaration, the Seventh Trumpet is blown, signaling the coming Wrath of God.  Now, let's look once more at the passages closely associated with "the rapture," and see what they say.

Jesus, in Matthew 24, says, "At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn.  They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory.  And He will send His angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other" (30-31).  

In I Corinthians 15, Paul writes:  "I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.  Listen, I tell you a mystery:  We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed - in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet.  For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will all be changed.  For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality" (50-53).

Paul, furthermore, tells us that none of this will happen "until the rebellion occurs and the Man of Lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction.  He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God's temple, proclaiming himself to be God" (II Thessalonians 2:3-4).

And all of this brings us back to Revelation 11.  What do we see in Revelation 11?

1) We see Two Witnesses who are called "the two olive trees" and "the two lampstands" (4),
2) We see God supernaturally protect these witnesses (5),
3) We see these men endowed with a great outpouring of the Holy Spirit (6),
4) We see the Beast from the Abyss conquer them (7),
5) We see them resurrect (11),
6) They are raptured with a loud shout (12),
7) This event is called a "woe" for the inhabitants of the earth (14; see also 8:13),
8) The Last Trumpet sounds (15).

We've already looked at the possibility that the Two Witnesses represent the Jewish and Gentile believers.  We know that God protects Israel during this time (Revelation 7:1-8;12:6,14), we know that there will be a great outpouring of the Holy Spirit prior to the Day of the Lord (Joel 2:28-32), we know that the Beast will eventually rise up and conquer the Church (13:7), we know that, at the time of the Rapture, the dead in Christ will rise first (I Thess. 4:16), the Rapture will occur with a loud command (I Thess. 4:16), this begins the period of God's Wrath on earth, something from which Jesus promised to spare the Church (Revelation 16; 3:10), and the Rapture occurs with the sound of "a" Final Trumpet (Matthew 24:31; I Cor. 15:51-52; I Thess. 4:16-17).

Seems fairly clear, right?  Furthermore, we have numerous signs to look for (Six Trumpets, to be exact), in order for us to be like the man who knows when the thief is coming.  However, exactly when between the Sixth and Seventh Trumpets does this occur?  We don't know.  Therefore, we do not know the day or the hour, but, since we are not "in darkness," it is entirely possible for us to not be caught off guard (I Thess. 4:13 - 5:11).  If the Rapture is completely and totally unpredictable, then it doesn't matter how many "signs" you look for, you'll be caught off guard - you can't watch for it.  That's not deep theology, that's just common sense.

I'm going to state this as plainly as I can.  If "The Rapture" can happen at any moment, at any time, when no one on earth can possibly expect it, and all we have are vague, quasi-signs about war and death (which happen and have happened continuously since . . . well, since man first died), then how on earth can the Church "watch" and "be ready"?  How can we possibly not be in darkness, if this is all veiled and hidden from us?  Jesus tells us to watch.  He tells us to be like the guy who knew when the thief was coming.  Paul tells us that the world will walk in darkness and be caught off guard, but we don't walk in darkness.  And, listen, most importantly, we're not told that it could happen "at any moment," but, among other things, that the Man of Lawlessness must be revealed first.  We know that there will be preceding trumpets.  There are specific signs we can look to in order to know when this event is closer.  Very specific - much more specific than "wars and rumors of wars."  This, Paul says, is a great mystery, and the angel in Revelation 10 tells us that, prior to the Last Trumpet, "the mystery of God will be accomplished" (10:7).     

Look, I acknowledge that a lot of this hinges on whether or not the two witnesses are symbols of the Church, and therefore I refuse to state that this take on the Rapture is the answer, the Truth, the absolute, Biblical stance and everyone else is wrong; I won't go there.  There are reasons, for example, to believe that the Rapture will happen at the very end, when Jesus physically returns and sends the Beast into the Lake of Fire.  But here's the deal:  if we're teaching people that the Rapture could happen this second, then we're ignoring Scripture.  If we're leading people into a false sense of security, that they can wait until they see the Rapture in order to be saved, then we're also ignoring Scripture (as we'll see when we look at the Bowls of God's Wrath).

Now, some would say that this view removes the urgency of the Gospel, because part of that urgency is to tell people that they don't want to be "left behind."  In the timeline I am presenting, by the time the Rapture happens, the Beast has already set up his kingdom, he has already forced people to choose whether or not they will worship him, he has persecuted and overcome Christians, the Rapture happens, the Church is taken, and the only people left are those who have sworn allegiance to the Beast and the Dragon.  There is, by the time the Rapture happens, no more witnessing.  If you are left behind, you will not be saved, and once the Beast arrives, he will deceive many, many people through lies, counterfeit miracles, and the like, while fear will keep any remaining doubters in line.  Folks, if you're not a believer when the Rapture happens, there is - I'm just reading the Scriptures on this one - a high likelihood that you won't ever be a believer.  As a result, the sense of urgency for the Gospel goes nowhere.  Rather, it amplifies.  Popular Christian literature teaches that once the Rapture happens, you can just be saved then.  Do you know what that does?  It leads people into a false sense of security.  If the lies of the Beast are so persuasive, however, that Jesus is concerned that He won't find any faith left on earth (Luke 18:8), then it sounds like if you're waiting to see the Rapture before you believe in Christ, it may be too late.

More than this, though, the Gospel does not revolve around the Rapture.  The Gospel revolves around the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  Whether the Rapture is this year, next year, or a million years from now, we are all sinners in need of Jesus, and none of us is guaranteed tomorrow.  Any one of us can be taken from this world, because we don't know the span of our lives.  So understand, if you're reading this and you don't believe Jesus is Lord, don't wait for the Rapture to make a decision, because you may not live long enough to see that.  Don't decide to wait until The Beast shows up, because you may not live long enough to see that.  As believers, our hope of forgiveness is in the work of Jesus, not the timing of the Rapture.  As non-believers, your hope is in the work of Jesus, not the timing of the Rapture.    

Altering the Bible

One of the common arguments against the authority of the Scriptures is that it has been altered and changed over the years.  Now, thanks to this text, we know, for certain, that at least the first chapters of Leviticus have remained consistent.

It's The End of the World As We Know It: The Rapture, Pt. 1

Few things get theologians more riled up than asserting that The Rapture is going to happen at a time different than what they, themselves, may believe.  I've seen people get vicious.  Which is interesting, when you really think about it, because the Bible seems to give us a pretty clear picture of when the Rapture takes place.  Now, I'm not talking about date-setting, because we don't know the exact hour or day - not from where we are right now (Matthew 24:36).  Date-setting is heretical.  But. . . .

. . . Jesus does tell us, numerous times, to watch and be ready.  Watch what?  If it's impossible to have any idea, whatsoever, when He's coming back, then why watch?  And what, exactly, does watching and being ready actually mean?

Let's look at a few things that Jesus has to say about this:

"Now learn this lesson from the fig tree:  As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near.  Even so, when you see all these things [Matthew 24:1-31], you know that it is near, right at the door" (Matthew 24:32-33).

What's His point?  "Look, you know how to read the signs of the fig tree, so learn to read the signs of the world."

"But understand this:  If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into.  So you must also be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect Him" (Matthew 24:43-44).

There are two ways to interpret this.  The first seems pretty straightforward:  "the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect Him."  In other words, you don't know when He's coming, so be ready.  But look at Jesus' "If" statement:  If you knew about what time someone was going to break into your home, wouldn't you be ready for it?  Therefore, Jesus says, be ready - be ready, just like the guy who knows when the thief is coming.  Sounds an awful lot like we can have a general idea, doesn't it?  But then He tacks on that weird clause:  "because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect Him."  As I said, I think most of us take that to mean:  it could be any day.  But when we take it in context of what Jesus has just finished saying ("watch for the signs, just like you watch the fig tree" and "be ready, just like the owner of the house who knows exactly when the thief is coming"), then Jesus may not be saying, "It could be any day, maybe in the next five seconds."  What He might be saying is that lots of people are going to give you lots of opinions, but check them to make sure they are Scriptural, because there will be enough in the Scriptures for you to know when the time will be - again, not necessarily the day or hour, but a general concept of what to look for.

Let's reiterate, this is not date-setting.  Take a few months and read through the Bible, and you'll find that, not once, does God give us a date.  Never.  Not once.  If you see someone tell you that the Rapture will happen by, say, the 3rd of October, 2017, run from them.  Flee their teaching:  it's wrong.  God does not give us a specific date.  He does, however, give us a whole lot of stuff to look for, and some of it is pretty specific, specific enough that we can, if we are familiar with the Scriptures, say, "Yep, the time is getting nearer."  I can look, for example, and see our world moving ever-closer to a one-world economy.  The U.S. economy can't keep going the way it is - collapse is inevitable.  Parts of Europe and Asia are experiencing collapse in several markets - and our economies are so closely linked that, should the American economy actually collapse, most of the world will follow.  That seems, to me at least, to be a good time to implement a one-world economy, like we see in Revelation 13:16-17; when the Old Order collapses, usher in the New Order.

The world - even as the Gospel is spreading throughout the planet - is growing ever-more intolerant of Christianity.  In places like China, which has always persecuted the underground Church, persecution is stepping up.  We've watched, for a couple of years now, as ISIS has gone after Middle Eastern Christians.  In America, laws are being passed that are making it illegal to hold certain viewpoints as a Christian - our religious freedom is being systematically removed.  We're certainly not being executed, so I'm not comparing our plight with believers in the Middle East, but what we're seeing here is a precursor to that.  Even now, in light of the recent shooting in Orlando, we see people blaming Christians for the act of a Muslim; this is the quintessential definition of "scapegoat."  So when we read that The Beast from the Abyss wages war against, and conquers, Christians [Revelation 13:7], I can see our globe moving ever-closer to that scenario.

But these are all theoretical, and things could certainly turn around, so let's move on to something more tangible and Biblical.  Now, I'm about to wade into some potentially dangerous waters, so please hear out what I have to say, and then I will give some rationale for this:  true, Jesus did not know when He was returning while He was here on earth - He said it Himself.  But that doesn't mean that He's still ignorant of it.  If, after His Ascension, after He received His glorified body, after He was given authority of Heaven and Earth, He still does not know when He's returning, then does He really have all authority?

Now, the reason I call this dangerous is because it could lead to some of us thinking that the Bible cannot be trusted.  Here's the potential argument:  "Well, if Jesus didn't know about His return, but now He does, then He could have been wrong about other things."  But here's the deal:  Jesus wasn't wrong about His return when He said He didn't know the day or the hour, He simply didn't know - and He told us as much.  This wasn't a mistake on His part, but an open honesty about His own human limitations, limitations that have no evidence, whatsoever, of spilling out into any other area of His teaching.  Remember, Jesus taught with great authority, but He could also only say what the Father told Him to say (John 8:28).  This isn't an issue of Jesus being wrong, just an issue of Jesus - as a man - having limited divine knowledge.  Therefore, the question remains:  is He still ignorant?

I would venture to say, no, because He revealed much to the Apostles in the years between His Ascension and the exile of John.  But let's be clear, even with all that the Apostles reveal - through Christ - in the Scriptures, they still never give an exact hour or day.  Even with added revelation, Jesus is not contradicted.  Now, I know that some of you who read this are still going to balk and say, "But Jesus said we can't know the day or hour!  Plus, the Apostles all thought Jesus was coming back in their lifetime!"

Yes, they appeared to, that's true.  But the Apostles didn't have the Book of Revelation.  Peter, Paul, James - they all died before John received the Apocalypse (which is Greek for "Revelation," not "End of the World in a Fiery Cataclysm that Destroys All Life on Earth," which is how modern American film culture defines it).  It would make sense, therefore, that we would take all of the information that they give us in their letters, look at that in light of what Jesus says in the Gospels, and filter all of that through the Book of Revelation.  And when we do that, Jesus' admonition to watch the signs becomes way, way easier, and involves very little guesswork.

Now, some of you may still be saying, "We can't know, because Jesus said so!  Besides, eschatology doesn't matter; only the Gospel matters!"

I've actually heard these arguments, which is why I bring them up.  First of all, we do have to be careful not to follow every theory and every conspiracy claim out there, looking for far-reaching "examples" of The End in order to "prove" everyone wrong.  I agree with that, and I agree with the fact that we don't need to scour Youtube for "proof" that the Rapture is about to happen.  Eschatology should always be filtered and presented in light of the fact that Jesus can be trusted, that He is God, that He died for the sins of the world, rose again, and will return.  But to claim that eschatology doesn't matter is to claim that sections of the Bible don't matter, and if that were true, God wouldn't have revealed it.  Since God did reveal it, and since Jesus admonished us to study the signs, then it's probably something we should take seriously.

But there's a deeper issue with the above argument, the argument that appeals to one single verse, while denying the importance of a good deal of the New Testament:  if you approach this area of Scripture in this manner, how do you approach other areas?  If you deny the importance of key elements of the Scriptures, how do you know you have key elements of the Gospel correct?  My guess is, you may not.

"Well, all I know is that Jesus is returning, and that's good enough!"

Yeah, so did the foolish virgins in Matthew 25, yet they were shut out from the Bridegroom (Matthew 25:1-13).  So what do we do?  How do we study this topic without getting sucked into debates and far-flung theories and foolishness?

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, we study the Scriptures.  We learn what they say, we learn what they don't, and we recognize Paul's advice in Romans 14:1, "Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters."  And while many people would claim that the Rapture is a disputable matter, the Scriptures do give us quite a few signs.  So let's look at those, and then we'll see how it applies to the Gospel in the here and now.

The actual spelled-out doctrine of the Rapture is non-existent; we need to be clear.  There is no passage in the Bible that lays out, detail for detail, every single aspect of this event (there is nothing, for example, that says that we will all disappear, naked, leaving a pile of clothes behind).  Nonetheless, there is a large number of passages that addresses the concept (sort of like "the Trinity"), and Jesus Himself starts it off in Matthew 24:30-33; 36-41:

"At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn.  They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory.  And He will send His angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.

"Now learn this lesson from the fig tree:  as soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near.  Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door. . . .

"No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.  As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.  For in the days before the Flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and given in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the Flood came and took them away.  That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.  Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left.  Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left."

Now, this sounds a lot like Jesus will "take" believers at the sign of His physical return in Revelation 19:11-16.  It really does.  And I'll admit, that may be the case.  But I want to temporarily call attention to only one factor here (we'll return to the rest in the next post!), and that is that His angels will "gather the elect . . . with a loud trumpet call."  This sentiment is echoed in I Thessalonians 4:13-5:11:

Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope.  We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in Him.  According to the Lord's own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep.  For the Lord Himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.  After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.  And so we will be with the Lord forever.  Therefore encourage each other with these words.

Now, brothers, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.  While people are saying, "Peace and safety," destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.

But you, brothers, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief.  You are all sons of the light and sons of the day.  We do not belong to the night or to the darkness.  So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled.  For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night.  But since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet.  For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.  He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with Him.  Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.

Okay, two things.  Firstly, notice Paul reiterates this idea of the "trumpet call of God" with the Rapture:  "For the Lord Himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.  After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air" (4:16-17).  Jesus is going to command something, "the archangel" is going to shout, there will be a trumpet call, and believers will "meet the Lord in the air."      
            
Clear?  Absolutely.  But notice something else, Paul uses Jesus' term "thief in the night."  Most of us, especially those raised on A Thief in the Night, have always believed that "thief in the night" refers to how the entire world, including Christians, will view the Rapture.  But Paul says something in this passage that many of us have long-overlooked:  "We know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night . . . but you, brothers, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief" (5:2,4).  What's Paul saying?  If you're a believer, you shouldn't be caught off-guard by it - you'll know when it's coming.

Now, let's look at one more word from Paul.  In his first letter to the church at Corinth, he writes:

I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.  Listen, I tell you a mystery:  We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed - in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet.  For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will all be changed.  For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality (15:50-53).

Paul's point here is fairly obvious, and that is that, since our sinful flesh cannot enter the kingdom of God, then, by the grace of Jesus (see 15:57), our bodies will be changed into our new, glorified bodies, in the same way that Jesus, after His resurrection, had a glorified body.  The second point here is that Paul tells us that the recurring trumpet motif is not just a random trumpet, but is the "last trumpet" in an uncounted series of trumpets.  Perhaps there will be two, maybe fifty - he doesn't say.  Only that, it is "the last trumpet," and for there to be a "last," there must be a first.

Have we heard any Divine trumpets?  Not yet.  Since, therefore, there hasn't been a first yet, there can't be a last.  But there is one more sign to look for, and we find this in II Thessalonians 2:

Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to Him, we ask you, brothers, not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by some prophecy, report or letter supposed to have come from us, saying that the day of the Lord has already come (1-2).

In other words, the church at Thessalonica was worried that they had missed "being gathered to Him."

Don't let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the Man of Lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction.  He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God's temple, proclaiming himself to be God" (3-4).

Do we see this?  Do we see, now, why we cannot claim the Rapture to be "at any moment"?  Because Paul himself, who claimed to have visions of heaven (II Corinthians 12:1-7), tells us that "The Rebellion" (not "a rebellion," which happens all the time), and "The Man of Lawlessness" (again, not "a man of lawlessness," of which there are countless), must happen before we are "gathered to Him."  In other words, believers will not be taken by God until after the Beast has risen, and after he has set himself up as god.  Listen carefully:  God does not promise to save us from the Tribulation and persecution of the saints, but He does promise to save us from the coming wrath.

But wait, aren't they the same thing?

In certain novels and movies, yes, but in the Bible, they are different.  The difference is subtle, but clear:  God brings judgments onto the earth during the persecution of His Church, under the Satanic rule of The Man of Lawlessness, in order to demonstrate His power and His Sovereignty over His people, in an effort to bring about a great harvest of believers before the Last Days.  But once His church is removed, He pours out His wrath on the earth, and on the Kingdom of the Antichrist.  We'll explore those ideas more in following posts.